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Monday, February 15,1982 THE EMPATH Page 7
M i M §
New Faces and High Hopes: EMPATH '82
One thought, one goal, one mission was in the minds o f the Editorial
Board o f last semester’s SMC Empath, and that was this: putting out the
best damn paper possible.
Since this is an editorial I’ll exercise my right and say that they did,
but whether or not they achieved this goal, is o f minute importance.
What is important is that their dedication in reaching that goal is why
the problems occurred which led to the closing o f the newspaper. This
is why the students involved (real, living people who had to worry about
trivialities such as classes, grades, relationships, rent money and food)
weren’t able to keep a 100% documented and fully comprehensive ledger
o f expenditures. To do so would have taken such an amount o f time,
both in research, and actually tabulating (the people involved were neither
accountants or business majors), that the reaching o f this worthy goal
would have been inhibited.
Of course, they could have produced a six page paper every three
weeks (o f which two and a half pages would had to have been personals),
but that would have simply led to the demise o f what reputation the
Empath had when they took the helm. Of course, they could have pro­duced
the same quality newspaper and taken on these added responsibili­ties
(as it was, Warren estimated that he spent thirty-five hours a week
working on Empath business — without pay or credit), but that would
have simply led to their failing out o f school. Of course, they could
have made all the pictures twice the size and used larger and more wordy
headlines, but that would have simply led to a mickey-mouse publication
Jackson's Administration
Note: The following editorial appeared in the February 10, 1982
edition o f The Enterprise. Permission was granted by Mr. Rick Boyd,
News Editor, to reprint the article in The Empath.
Those in the community who have no ties to St. Mary’s College may
wonder why the college president’s personal life led to his resignation.
They may wonder why J. Renwick Jackson’s alleged personal involve­ment
with one o f his top assistants caused an uproar among faculty,
students, and the trustees o f the college. They may also wonder why
this newspaper decided to publicize his personal life and might in another
case choose to say nothing about the private affairs o f some other public
figure.
The answer to the last question is fairly simple this time. Jackson’s
personal life became news when the faculty, students, and trustees made it
an issue in the turmoil that ultimately led to his resignation. The rumors
were just gossip until they affected Jackson’s ability to do his job.
Why did his personal life arouse the college community to such a
degree? The faculty said the ability o f the provost and vice president o f
academic affairs to act as their liaison with the administration was im­paired
by her relationship with Jackson. The students accused Jackson
o f intimidating faculty. And this time Jackson could not tell the trustees
he was acting in the best interests o f the college.
But we think the reason the turmoil led to Jackson’s resignation this
time is not so much that the academic community was offended by his
private life, but that they’d long ago developed a distaste for his public
life. There was no reservoir o f goodwill left among most o f the people
connected with the college.
The tales o f faculty and staff members who came to the college with
much fanfare and then were shuttled out o f the back door a few years
later with their academic careers in tatters are legion. Twice before, in
1974 and 1977, the trustees had to address turmoil that developed after
with less quality and variety o f stories.
Although the paper was absent at a critical time in St. Mary’s history,
like the rest o f the college it has been able to come through this period
with positive changes, changes that have improved and enriched it. For
this we are thankful.
A business manager has joined our ranks, and if her initial enthusiasm
and hard work are an indication o f what is to come, then we are confident
that problems o f the past will not reoccur. As a business major she has
the knowledge needed and the energy required. Her presence is a blessing
which we feel will both improve the quality and expedite the printing
o f your newspaper.
Next, we have a layout editor. The girl taking on these duties desires
only to help The Empath and learn the skills involved with laying out
a newspaper. She doesn’t want to write or have any o f her work pub­lished.
To give you an idea o f exactly what this means, try to imagine a
person who wants to sit next to you at a crab feast and pick the meat
from the crabs, but doesn’t want to eat any herself. Beau ideal.
Joining these people are several new writers and cartoonists. With the
infusion o f this “new blood” we hope to bring variety and a fresh tone
to our pages, to go along with the changed outlook o f the school.
And so, we welcome Dr. Weigle and the rest o f the campus community
to The Empath o f the Spring 1982 semester o f St. Mary’s College o f
Maryland with this final thought. One thing remains unchanged — it
is still our goal to put out the best damn paper possible.
Viewed From the Outside
Jackson forced the departure o f popular faculty members.
There seemed to be no pattern to the dismissals except that those
who were tossed out had evoked Jackson’s personal displeasure. The
same people who came to St. Mary’s College dazzled by Jackson’s vision
o f an academic mission along the St. Mary’s River were often bitter as
they found themselves looking for work a few years later.
The faculty and staff who needed their jobs were afraid to publicly
criticize the administration. So when Jackson’s resignation came last week
the reaction among many people at the college bordered on euphoric.
Our criticism now and in past years doesn’t mean we don’t recognize
Jackson’s contribution to St. Mary’s College. The college is indeed a noble
experiment in providing a liberal arts education at a public institution.
The overall academic reputation o f the college is good, and much o f that
had to do with Jackson’s remarkable ability to attract talented faculty
and staff members.
And the college does much to enrich the life o f St. Mary’s County.
Much o f the cultural life o f the community revolves around college
activities.
But the dark side o f the development o f St. Mary’s College is the
appalling turnover rate among those talented faculty and staff members
and the low morale that periodically has made the campus seem as though
it were under siege.
It was Jackson who created the climate that made his many adversaries
so quick to exploit the problems created by his personal life.
In accepting Jackson’s resignation, we have no doubt that the college
trustees did what is best for St. Mary’s College. The college has weathered
worse and more demoralizing traumas in the last decade. Free o f the
shadows that flawed the achievements o f the Jackson presidency, the
college can move on with a new stability to provide a quality liberal
arts education Maryland students can afford.

Monday, February 15,1982 THE EMPATH Page 7
M i M §
New Faces and High Hopes: EMPATH '82
One thought, one goal, one mission was in the minds o f the Editorial
Board o f last semester’s SMC Empath, and that was this: putting out the
best damn paper possible.
Since this is an editorial I’ll exercise my right and say that they did,
but whether or not they achieved this goal, is o f minute importance.
What is important is that their dedication in reaching that goal is why
the problems occurred which led to the closing o f the newspaper. This
is why the students involved (real, living people who had to worry about
trivialities such as classes, grades, relationships, rent money and food)
weren’t able to keep a 100% documented and fully comprehensive ledger
o f expenditures. To do so would have taken such an amount o f time,
both in research, and actually tabulating (the people involved were neither
accountants or business majors), that the reaching o f this worthy goal
would have been inhibited.
Of course, they could have produced a six page paper every three
weeks (o f which two and a half pages would had to have been personals),
but that would have simply led to the demise o f what reputation the
Empath had when they took the helm. Of course, they could have pro­duced
the same quality newspaper and taken on these added responsibili­ties
(as it was, Warren estimated that he spent thirty-five hours a week
working on Empath business — without pay or credit), but that would
have simply led to their failing out o f school. Of course, they could
have made all the pictures twice the size and used larger and more wordy
headlines, but that would have simply led to a mickey-mouse publication
Jackson's Administration
Note: The following editorial appeared in the February 10, 1982
edition o f The Enterprise. Permission was granted by Mr. Rick Boyd,
News Editor, to reprint the article in The Empath.
Those in the community who have no ties to St. Mary’s College may
wonder why the college president’s personal life led to his resignation.
They may wonder why J. Renwick Jackson’s alleged personal involve­ment
with one o f his top assistants caused an uproar among faculty,
students, and the trustees o f the college. They may also wonder why
this newspaper decided to publicize his personal life and might in another
case choose to say nothing about the private affairs o f some other public
figure.
The answer to the last question is fairly simple this time. Jackson’s
personal life became news when the faculty, students, and trustees made it
an issue in the turmoil that ultimately led to his resignation. The rumors
were just gossip until they affected Jackson’s ability to do his job.
Why did his personal life arouse the college community to such a
degree? The faculty said the ability o f the provost and vice president o f
academic affairs to act as their liaison with the administration was im­paired
by her relationship with Jackson. The students accused Jackson
o f intimidating faculty. And this time Jackson could not tell the trustees
he was acting in the best interests o f the college.
But we think the reason the turmoil led to Jackson’s resignation this
time is not so much that the academic community was offended by his
private life, but that they’d long ago developed a distaste for his public
life. There was no reservoir o f goodwill left among most o f the people
connected with the college.
The tales o f faculty and staff members who came to the college with
much fanfare and then were shuttled out o f the back door a few years
later with their academic careers in tatters are legion. Twice before, in
1974 and 1977, the trustees had to address turmoil that developed after
with less quality and variety o f stories.
Although the paper was absent at a critical time in St. Mary’s history,
like the rest o f the college it has been able to come through this period
with positive changes, changes that have improved and enriched it. For
this we are thankful.
A business manager has joined our ranks, and if her initial enthusiasm
and hard work are an indication o f what is to come, then we are confident
that problems o f the past will not reoccur. As a business major she has
the knowledge needed and the energy required. Her presence is a blessing
which we feel will both improve the quality and expedite the printing
o f your newspaper.
Next, we have a layout editor. The girl taking on these duties desires
only to help The Empath and learn the skills involved with laying out
a newspaper. She doesn’t want to write or have any o f her work pub­lished.
To give you an idea o f exactly what this means, try to imagine a
person who wants to sit next to you at a crab feast and pick the meat
from the crabs, but doesn’t want to eat any herself. Beau ideal.
Joining these people are several new writers and cartoonists. With the
infusion o f this “new blood” we hope to bring variety and a fresh tone
to our pages, to go along with the changed outlook o f the school.
And so, we welcome Dr. Weigle and the rest o f the campus community
to The Empath o f the Spring 1982 semester o f St. Mary’s College o f
Maryland with this final thought. One thing remains unchanged — it
is still our goal to put out the best damn paper possible.
Viewed From the Outside
Jackson forced the departure o f popular faculty members.
There seemed to be no pattern to the dismissals except that those
who were tossed out had evoked Jackson’s personal displeasure. The
same people who came to St. Mary’s College dazzled by Jackson’s vision
o f an academic mission along the St. Mary’s River were often bitter as
they found themselves looking for work a few years later.
The faculty and staff who needed their jobs were afraid to publicly
criticize the administration. So when Jackson’s resignation came last week
the reaction among many people at the college bordered on euphoric.
Our criticism now and in past years doesn’t mean we don’t recognize
Jackson’s contribution to St. Mary’s College. The college is indeed a noble
experiment in providing a liberal arts education at a public institution.
The overall academic reputation o f the college is good, and much o f that
had to do with Jackson’s remarkable ability to attract talented faculty
and staff members.
And the college does much to enrich the life o f St. Mary’s County.
Much o f the cultural life o f the community revolves around college
activities.
But the dark side o f the development o f St. Mary’s College is the
appalling turnover rate among those talented faculty and staff members
and the low morale that periodically has made the campus seem as though
it were under siege.
It was Jackson who created the climate that made his many adversaries
so quick to exploit the problems created by his personal life.
In accepting Jackson’s resignation, we have no doubt that the college
trustees did what is best for St. Mary’s College. The college has weathered
worse and more demoralizing traumas in the last decade. Free o f the
shadows that flawed the achievements o f the Jackson presidency, the
college can move on with a new stability to provide a quality liberal
arts education Maryland students can afford.